CHAPTER 9DISAPPOINTMENT...TRYOUTS PART 2Cia's father slammed the car door and not a word was spoken for almost the whole trip home. Lost in the quarter finals...we lost...this is all that went through Cia's mind on the way home. "It was all my fault"; Cia sobbed. She started to cry openly now and didn't care what her parents would think. This actually seemed to change her fathers mood; Instead of wearing that stone mask he called a face almost all the way home, his face seemed to soften. "It's not your fault super star, the coach had his head up his butt and didn't do anything to correct what went wrong in the first half. The other coach did, bottom line"! Her coach, "Ned", had pumped them up as only he could before the game. She had really enjoyed playing for Ned the whole season, he had been nice to her ever since they had met at tryouts. She had never guessed back then that the "Salt and Peppered" older guy was going to be her coach, but she was glad that he was. He taught the girls a "direct style" of play, "Get the ball out and over" he had said countless times, and for most of the year it had worked. Her team; Ruby City FC had won their fall league with a perfect record and had even won 3 of the 4 tournaments they had entered. Maybe the team and all her friends were overconfident going into the state cup. The team that had beaten them kept the ball on the outside and used some great passing to beat them 2-1. Cia had scored the lone goal, but she felt now in the car that she "could have did more" to help her team win. "Things will change next year! You can bet your life on that"!! Her father snorted as they pulled into the driveway.
Cia glared at the other girls all standing around the pitch. In her mind these were her enemies! The very girls/team that had knocked them out of the state cup. They had not made it past the semi's, but still it bothered her to be at these tryouts. "We are going to explore our options"; her father had said. "OUR"? Was he going to play too she thought as they pulled into the parking lot of the tryouts. She repressed a giggle to herself and grabbed her ball to head out on the field.
The tryouts for this team; Westside FC were very much like the ones last year for Ruby City FC. The coach of the team introduced herself at the beginning of tryouts. Her name was Marsha, "just like my name but spelled different" Marcia thought; Marsha Fry. Cia didn't even know that females could be coachs, but she liked her right away, even if she did dislike most of the other girls there. By the end of the tryouts Cia again found her self in a group off to the side of the rest. Coach Marsha walked up to the group holding a clip board. Most of the group was made up of ten girls that played for her last year, with four different girls added; including Cia. The coach dimissed the girls from last years team with a wink, the remaining four she kept back. "If you didn't know it already, I want you girls on my team. If you four were on the team last year we would of made it further and possibly even won state"! Cia didn't know how to take this. In her mind she was just "exploring her options" like her dad said, but had no intention of leaving her friends at Ruby City. Cia just smiled and tried to act polite.
On the ride home her dad was more quiet then usual. He rubbed his temples as if in deep thought, or as if he was having another headache. Finally he said; "Hope you like the coach, that's your new team". Cia was shocked. She did not even get any input. She swallowed back a spew of venom, which would have made her cry if she said it, and chose to simply say nothing.
CHAPTER 10U13 AND THE COMING OF THE ADLFor the thrid year in a row Cia was on a new team. At points this year she had longed to be back on the Blue dragons, where all they seemed to do is have fun. Her father was to have a meeting tonight at their house after dinner. The dinner guest was to be the coach of the state championship runner-up team; "WashFire Premier". They were the club that almost won it all last year after beating her old team in the Semi's. The coach was pretty famous her dad had said; she had never heard of him. His name was Simon Potter, he and he wife both coached for WashFire Preimier.
Cia knew what this meant. Her team had did great she had thought. Westside had made it to the semi-finals, losing a close game on PK's to a team from further south called FC Doyles. The WashFire team had made it too the finals but lost also to the Doyles, also on PK's. Cia knew her dad was "shopping for options" again. "Am I gonna play on a different team every year?", she said to her brother in the den. Her little brother just ingnored her as he continued to explore the tire options on his new corvette he had bought in his grand terismo game. "Little brat" Cia said under her breath as she headed to the kitchen to see if her mom needed any help with the dinner. "I'm fine sweatheart, just fold the napkins for the settings if you wouldn't mind." Cia questioned were dad was and her mom just rolled her eyes and told Cia she bet he was up stairs watching the semi-final game her team had lost for the millioneth time. They both shared a laugh at the thought of that, but Cia knew her mom was really serious when she said it.
As she folded the cloth napkins, just like her mom had showed her, Cia thought about her team-mates. She had grown to like them all. From what started as her "enemies" turned into her closest friends. One of the girls; Morgan, had even went to school with her and had replaced Kristina as her best friend. Kristina these days seemed more into music and boys then anything else; she hadn't understood Cia's love for soccer or never having weekends free. Morgan on the other hand, understood exactly! Lost in thought she almost didn't hear the door bell ring. "Get the door honey!"; Her mom called out. Cia skipped to the door and opened it. "There she is! There is the next Mia Hamm" the tall younger looking man at the door said upon her opening it. The man was Coach Simon and his wife Tamy (with one "m"). Cia flushed just as she always did upon being flattered and showed them wear to hang their coats.
The dinner was great as always and Cia ate quietly as she listened to her father and Coach Potter discuss soccer and WashFire's chances of winning it all next year. She didn't ask her dad why he had invited him, she already knew. Even before tryouts, a week away, he was hand picking her new team for her. She couldn't believe how much her father was into soccer and her teams. "I am the one that wanted to start playing, I am the one that goes out there and plays! It's not fair that I have no say in where or with who I play!" She thought about yelling this outloud, but knew better. Saying goodbye to the coach and his wife Cia offered up a polite smile. She knew she would be playing for him soon on WashFIre, and they would be playing in a league starting this spring called the "APL" (advanced development league). She listened at the breakfast table while her father with beer in hand proclaimed that the APL was the "Best thing since sliced bread", and how CIa playing on a team in this league would not only benefit her, but the whole state.
A huge yawn ecscaped Cia's mouth as she got up from the table and gave her mom and dad a kiss goodnight. She tip toed up the stairs as to not wake her little brother who was put to sleep before the coachs even left. She layed in bed with her ball still her companion by her side. She reached over on her nightstand and grabbed the new cell phone she had gotten for Christmas. "I better call Morgan"; She thought. As she dialed her best friends phone number and listened to her "Bringing sexy back" ringtone on the receiver, she thought of what she would say, and how she would tell her best friend that she would no longer be on Westside FC and instead would be going "Selectville's" crosstown rival. Morgan answered the phone...
Chapter 11 coming soon
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Topic: Once Upon A Time, On A Mod-Field Far Far Away.... (Read 2297 times)